Building Writing Identities: Integrating Explicit Strategies With Authentic Writing Experiences To Engage At-Promise Writers, Robert A. Griffin, Morris R. Council Iii, Tamra W. Ogletree, Jennifer K. Allen, Bethany L. Scullin

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

The message of what constitutes good writing instruction, though promulgated for decades, has not always nor consistently trickled down to P–12 schools, where writing instruction is often focused on preparing students for success on standardized tests and where prescriptive and formulaic approaches to teaching writing are prevalent. Part of the reason for this might be that teachers are not always familiar enough with authentic writing experiences that adequately engage all learners. As scholars in the fields of literacy and special education, respectively, the authors combine their collective expertise to address this concern. They offer skills-based tools and strategies that can …

Professional Learning Of Literacy Teachers Of Specialized Populations, Katie Egan Cunningham, Jodi Falk

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

In this article, the researchers share results from a study on teachers’ responses to professional learning experiences with a focus on balanced literacy methods to best meet the literacy needs of their d/Deaf students. The authors use theories of communities of practice, connected learning, and collective hope. Findings indicate that for professional learning to be meaningful and actionable, it needed to include the following four criteria: (1) must be relevant to the specific population of children; (2) must acknowledge and value organic, teacher-initiated professional learning; (3) must incorporate a collaboratively decided-upon shared purpose; and (4) must be joy driven and …

Supporting The Literacy Development Of Striving Readers Through Competing Theoretical Perspectives, Melissa K. Mccullough, Robert A. Griffin

The Reading Professor

Abstract

In this paper, we present educators with the theoretical underpinnings of competing pedagogical approaches to literacy instruction. Given the recent push by many states to universally screen students in the early grades for dyslexia and institute phonics-only standards, we seek to reiterate the importance of a balanced approach. Our purpose is to explain how two contrasting orientations regarding the reading process can together form a framework for providing the best literacy education possible for all students, especially striving readers. We explore both the cognitive information-processing and constructivist perspectives and examine prominent models and theories that inform each approach. Recent …

A Balanced Approach To Literacy Instruction And Support For Diverse Learners, Bonnie Mondesir, Robert A. Griffin

Georgia Journal of Literacy

In this article, the authors explore various theories to inform educators and educational leaders who are looking for ways to better meet the literacy needs of all of their diverse students, including striving readers, culturally and linguistically diverse readers, and proficient and excelling readers. They call on educators to embrace a balanced approach that is informed by multiple bottom-up and top-down theories to better meet the needs of all their students. Focus is first given to Gough’s and LaBerge and Samuels’ information processing models (bottom-up models) followed by the psycholinguistic, schema, and transactional reader response top-down theories. Discussion of both …

The Impact Of Shared Reading On 1st Graders’ Writing Using Author’S Craft, Kelsey Bolin

Masters Theses

This study was conducted in a first grade classroom with twenty participants. This study took place over five and a half weeks, where students were introduced to three mentor texts in a shared reading setting. The students asked and answered questions about the texts and participated in extension writing activities. Students were given opportunities to engage with the mentor texts and writing in whole group settings as well as individual settings. Students were expected to write a final assignment using the form of author craft portrayed in the final mentor text, which students were able to complete successfully.

Students practiced …

Determining Support Needed For Implementation Of The Balanced Literacy Framework In High School English Classrooms, Emily Kimpton

Theses and Dissertations

This study used Action Research methods to explore how an English language arts coordinator housed at the district office could employ an administrative model of coaching. The purpose of this study was to discover what a coaching model of administrative support reveals about high school English teachers' beliefs and practices and what support teachers needed in order to implement a balanced literacy framework of instruction. Teachers engaged in this study over the course of one semester. Semesters in this context encompass an entire course of English literature. Cycles of coaching were initiated that began with a pre-conference followed by observation, …

Reading Researchers In Search Of Common Ground: The Expert Study Revisited, Tiffany A. Flowers

Journal of Research Initiatives

The purpose of this book review was to analyze the main arguments regarding literacy instruction from various paradigms of research. The Foreword of this text was written by Dr. Patricia Edwards the Past President of the Literacy Research Association. As Dr. Edwards pointedly reveals in her endorsement of this text, “Reading researchers must find some common ground in order to provide teachers with the necessary strategies to teach children reading." Dr. Edwards takes a strong stance on the reading wars debate. This foreword leaves readers with key questions that are answered throughout the reading of this text such as, what …

An Elementary Perspective Of The Value-Added Model, Pat Mccoy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In a small, rural school district in the southeastern United States, elementary school teachers were receiving positive evaluation ratings while student proficiency on state assessments was below the state average. Due to changes in federal and state laws, school personnel evaluate methods have undergone significant reform. The purpose of this study was to answer the guiding research questions of teachers and administrators perceptions toward the value-added model (VAM) of evaluation and how those perceptions affect teacher performance. Taylor's scientific management theory, which suggests examining human productivity through the lens of applied science served as the conceptual framework. Data were collected …

A Comprehensive Evaluation Of The Teacher’S College Reading And Writing Project Balanced Literacy Instructional Framework And The Reading Proficiency Of Economically Disadvantaged Students, Latonya Elise Gaines-Montgomery

Education Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation was designed to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the Teacher’s College Reading and Writing Project (TCRWP) and its impact on the reading achievement of economically disadvantaged students. TCRWP was implemented at two high poverty schools (over 80% economically disadvantaged students) in southeastern North Carolina. Stufflebeam’s (2003) revised CIPP evaluation model was used to evaluate the program along with a convergent mixed-methods design. The data analysis revealed that TCRWP as well as the schools’ strategic plans were aligned to the schools’ assessed needs. Additionally, the analysis showed that implementation of TCRWP aligned to the schools’ initial implementation designs. The …

Third-Grade Teachers' Perceptions Of Balanced Literacy, Kimberly S. Harrison

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In response to fourth grade students' performance on the National Assessment of Education Progress reading test, states across the nation have enacted laws which stipulate third-grade students achieve reading proficiency in order to be promoted. With the passage of the South Carolina Read to Succeed Act 2014, school leaders in an urban school district implemented a balanced literacy framework to address 3rd grade students' low reading achievement. Approached from a constructivist framework, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to present 3rd grade teachers' perceptions of the balanced literacy framework with regard to students' reading achievement. Vygotsky's theories of …

Balanced Literacy Activities In Ontario Jk - Grade 8 Comprehensive Literacy Classrooms: Examining Self-Reported Frequency Of Classroom Activities, Elizabeth Louise Pearsall

Wayne State University Dissertations

Balanced Literacy Activities in Ontario JK – Grade 8

Comprehensive Literacy Classrooms:

Examining Self-Reported Frequency of Classroom Activities

By

Elizabeth Louise Pearsall

August 2015

Advisor: Dr. G. Oglan

Major: Reading, Language & Literature

Degree: Doctor of Education

The purpose of this study was to discover the Frequency of Use rates for balanced/ comprehensive literacy activities as described in 46 survey statements across the four Ontario elementary school divisions (Early Years, JK/SK; Primary Division, Grades 1, 2, & 3; Junior Division, Grades 4, 5, & 6; and Intermediate Division, Grades 7 & 8). In addition another purpose of this study was …

Good To Great: A Case Study Of An African American Literacy Coordinator’S Role In Transitioning A School From Dependence On A Scripted Reading Program To Balanced Literacy, Kimberly A. Chase

Dissertations

This study considers the change process and the impact of race on the implementation process as a Literacy Coordinator transitioned an elementary school from Open Court to balanced literacy. A retroactive case study was used to examine the Literacy Coordinator’s actions and decisions, teachers’ perspectives, and the effects of race on the implementation. Findings suggested that the roles of the Literacy Coordinator involved duties that pull from the specific responsibilities of a reading specialist, literacy coach, reading educator, and an administrator. Furthermore, teachers reported a change in their practices and beliefs due to participation in the implementation process. Finally, findings …

Teachers' Perceptions Of The Reading Achievement Gap Between High-Achieving Students And Below-Basic Students, Helen Anne Iaconelli

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Atlantic Avenue Elementary School (AAES) experienced reading achievement gaps between high-performing students and below-basic students within the school reading curriculum and balanced literacy framework. Vygotsky's theories of scaffolding and zone of proximal development served as the framework guiding this project, which used a qualitative case study design to explore reading teachers' perceptions of the ways in which they were addressing this reading achievement gap. Individual interviews, classroom observations, and lesson plans were the sources of the qualitative data collected from 6 reading teachers. The data were coded manually using emerging and constant-comparative strategies to identify common themes. The themes that …

An Exploration Of Reading Methods In First-Grade: Comparing The Basal Approach And Balanced Literacy, Richelle Leblanc Acosta

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Few topics in education have sparked as much interest and debate as the teaching of reading. Throughout the past century, instructional approaches have come and gone but one thing has remained constant: the teacher. Behind every effective classroom lies a teacher. It is ultimately the teacher’s decisions that drive daily instruction in the classroom. But what is the best way for teachers to teach children how to read? For decades, researchers have plagued studies seeking to find the best method for accomplishing this. Just as students’ physical characteristics are very diverse, so too are their academic abilities. Reading teachers must …

Balanced Literacy Versus Basal Reading Instruction For Urban African-American, Title I Third-Grade Students, Julie Ann Perkins

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This study compared third-grade reading achievement of urban African-American, Title I students using a basal reading series with those using a balanced literacy program to determine whether the highly structured skills-based methods advocated by The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act actually foster or impede reading achievement in an urban school setting.

Two hundred forty-five third-grade African-American, Title I students from an urban elementary school in southeastern Virginia served as subjects for the study. Subjects were studied as intact groups to avoid disruption in the educational setting. Participants in the control group were third-grade classes of urban African-American, Title I …